The opening of The Power of Femininity in early March was a delightful evening of photographic art, music, wine, and conversation.
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With Carol Fonde and António José Costa….. My two longtime collaborators to whom I owe intense gratitude…. and the only printers who touch my negatives. I joke they have the ‘prima-donna gene’ of all master printers; but, they have honestly influenced my style and development of seeing photographically more than anyone. Carol is the world’s finest color printer (with early clients Newton and Avedon) coming to NYC weekly from Maine to teach color printing at Parsons. António, the master black and white printer at his Viragem laboratory in Lisbon, was in NYC for his maiden visit. I could not resist having them meet and celebrating our gift of light. They are an extension of my eyes. Thank you both.
Selected images from Lisbon Exhibition North South, East West by Curator Hilda Yasseri are now on display at Galeria Almada Negreiros in The Portuguese Consulate in Toronto through April 1, 2019.
With sincere gratitude to the Cultural Center of Cascais and the Canadian Embassy in Portugal. PHOTO: This week’s closing reception of North South, East West in Lisbon
The image St. James Hotel, Montreal was chosen for the Foundation’s permanent collection. Picture l to r : Isabel Alvarenga (Museum Director), Salvato Teles de Menezes (President of Foundation), TedWitek, Lisa Rice Madden (Ambassador of Canada to Portugal) and Joël Monfils (Conseiller to Ambassador).
Photo by Vitor Fortuna
North South, East West
Ted Witek (1957- ) was born and raised in Connecticut. He left the United States for Germany in 2001, moving to Portugal in 2004. He immediately fell in love with the country and its people.
Having the artistic good fortune to travel many times to the North and South of Portugal as well as to Madeira and the Azores, Ted found the country among the most visually stimulating places that he has visited. Whether watching youngsters jumping from all heights in the hot sun into the Douro River, discovering an abandoned mannequin factory in Chiado, awaiting fishermen returning to shore in Sesimbra long before sunrise, or observing the biker celebrants of the Concentração de Motos in Faro, Ted was continuously inspired to capture a visual story.
Learning he would move to Canada in 2008, Ted immediately purchased a home in Azoia at Cabo Espichel where he now keeps a studio.
In 2012, Ted photographed all of beautiful Canada’s provinces for a new series entitled “Canadiana” with first edition prints auctioned for the Herbie Fund Charity at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto (SickKids). This series brought him between the world’s longest coastlines, from the east’s land’s end at Peggy’s Cove in Nova Scotia and as far west as Bennett Lake —- only reachable by floatplane over the icefalls and glaciers of Yukon.
Hilda Yasseri, Curator
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Images from the opening night at Centro Cultural de Cascais, Portugal
This coming November the Cultural Center of Cascais will host the Ted Witek exhibition, North South, East West. Curated by Hilda Yasseri, the images represent a personal sense of place across the Provinces of Canada and up and down the country of Portugal. Sponsored in part by the Canadian Embassy in Portugal, all images are printed from original negatives on silver gelatine fibre by master printer António José Costa in Lisbon.
Stay tuned for more information as the November opening night approaches.
Ted seldom passes through a city without getting a glimpse of a current photography exhibition. ” I spend a significant portion of my down time viewing of photography books as relaxing inspiration, but I enjoy most being very close to a print, especially when prepared in classic silver gelatine style” Before all of my travels, I scan the notices of shows that I believe will be of aesthetic interest and often pass through on my way from or to the airport. I do not need much time to be inspired.”
In Full Light
Herb Ritts
Cultural Center of Cascais
Having seen a small collection of Herb Ritts’ vintage prints on display earlier this year at London’s Hamilton Gallery, I was pleased to learn of the 106 print show “In Full Light” at The Cultural Center of Cascais (through January 21st) in my former neighborhood just outside Lisbon. Ritts, born in LA and with us for only 50 years before his death in 2002, was behind numerous iconic fashion photographs and advertisements of our time as well as direction of several commercials and music videos such as Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game” (with extraordinary contributions from mother nature that few realize).
It is not difficult to appreciate each and every one of these photographs; however, the high proportion of images captured outside the studio are most illustrative of his aesthetic genius. Curator Alessandra Mauro notes his California upbringing was behind “his natural inclination for light, materials, and color,” with several images reflecting ‘the tactile elements of materials exalting the human skin in relation to water, sand, fabric, and mud.’ In simple words, he spent a lot of time with his camera on the beach.
In addition to beauty and fashion, there is a large display of his portraits, including the iconic Madonna who was on hand to open the exhibition in her new home in Portugal.
